Tree Hunt
by iAir Nomad
Summary: Yami, Yugi and Sugoroku go out to find a Christmas tree. Lots of puzzleshipping fluff. R&R!


**Gah, had to do another Christmas puzzleshippy fic o3o I LOVE these two… it's seriously, like the best thing that I have discovered in my little world of fandoms. D: Anyhoo, today they are Christmas-tree hunting! I've always loved doing that with my family. We always argue about who gets to pick the tree. Hehehe.**

**Gawd, I suck at titles.**

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><p>"Are you ready for this?" Yugi smiled, buttoning his coat, which was far too long and puffy for his petit size. But it certainly looked cozy on him.<p>

"Definitely." Yami replied with a thumbs-up, followed with a determined smile.

"Let's go. _Jii-chaaan_, we're ready!"

"Hold your horses, lad, I'm coming!" Sugoroku Mutou called back, stumbling down the stairs while trying to button his own thick coat. "I'm too old for this cold weather…" He mumbled with a sigh, meeting the two waiting teens at the door. He wrapped his scarf securely around his neck, then threw the front door open. Immediately, the trio was smacked in the face by chilly wind mixed with little specks of snow. They all stared at the white-blanketed world outside for a moment or two, Sugoroku inhaling deeply before marching out in the midst of it all. Yami and Yugi exchanged a glance and a shrug at each other before trailing behind the elder to the old truck in the garage. Upon the sight of it, Yami crinkled his nose and frowned disapprovingly at it, stopping right where he was. Yugi turned to him, noticing the lack of movement from his darker half behind him with perplexity. He took the older teen's hand and attempted to pull him along, but Yami wouldn't budge.

"What's wrong, _mou hitori no boku_?"

"We're going in _that_ old thing?" Yami protested, disgusted at the mere thought of _sitting_ in it.

Yugi raised an eyebrow at him. "We have to. It's the only vehicle we have big enough to carry the tree," Yugi tugged at his hand again. "Let's go, _mou hitori no boku_. We won't have to ride in it long, I promise."

Yami sighed, knowing fully well he couldn't deny his little _aibou_ with that kind of pleading voice, no matter how proud and stubborn he was to get things his way; no matter the circumstances. He reluctantly followed Yugi to the giant vehicle, which Sugoroku was now seated in the driver's seat. The truck roared to life with a simple action of inserting the keys. The two boys step-hopped in the passenger seats, with Yugi squished in the middle. He smiled as Yami hastily slammed the door shut to keep any more cold air from entering, and snuggled more comfortably between his grandfather and the taller teen. Sugoroku cranked up the warm air in the car and pushed his foot down the gas pedal. There was another roar from the engine in response as the truck began to move carefully out of the safety of the garage and into the sheets of snow. All three males were completely silent, listening as the snow crunched outside under the pressure of the tires. Suddenly, there was a screeching sound and Yugi raised a brow.

"Jii-chan, maybe you should put the chains on the tires. We're sliding…"

"Have no fear, my boy!" Sugoroku grinned cheekily. "I've got four-wheel drive on his baby."

"But _jii-chaaan_," Yugi pleaded. "It's dangerous!"

But Sugoroku ignored his grandson, focusing instead on his challenge at hand. With both palms gripping tightly on the wheel, he pressed gently on the gas pedal again. Yugi instinctively braced himself for the worst by clinging to Yami's arm. The elder teen wrapped his own arms around the small boy, secretly fearing the outcome of this as well.

"Come on. Show me again your magic like in the old days," Sugoroku murmured to the truck. Pressing the gas pedal once more, the truck slowly slid through the snow, but Sugoroku had obviously been in this kind of situation before. He turned the wheel fiercely left and right to balance out the direction while continuously pressing the pedal. The truck gradually was moving forward at a good pace within a few minutes time, and finally the trio had made it onto the road, which was clear of ice and snow. Everyone let out a sigh of relief that they had been holding throughout the duration of such a risky process. They ran into a tiny bump as the rest of the truck moved onto the road, and set off.

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><p>Twenty minutes had passed since pushing out the garage, and the truck was moving effortlessly now along the winding road, between tall pine trees, nearing the countryside. Yami was seated comfortably with his head resting in his palm, observing the world fly past them through the stained-glass window. Cutely bundled up between the two older males, Yugi sat with his deck of Duel Monsters in his hands in front of him. He flipped through each of the cards over and over again out of complete lack of anything else to do in such a tight position.<p>

"This thing is ancient," Yami mumbled, referring to the truck.

"Yeah, it's as old as Jii-chan!" Yugi beamed in reply.

"Hey, now! This is my baby. No need to make fun of it by its age or appearance, ne?" Sugoroku frowned.

"Can't be your baby if it's as old as you." Yami smirked, glancing at the elder, and extracting great pleasure at the sight of Sugoroku unable to reply, and only scowling pathetically. Yugi laughed.

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><p>"Here we are, boys!" Sugoroku announced proudly with one hand on his hip, another patting the truck's metal exterior beside him.<p>

"Only took an hour," Yami grumbled, jumping out of his seat. Leather boots met a road of tiny rocks.

"Thirty minutes," Yugi corrected, mirroring Yami's movements and jumping out of the vehicle and joining his companion's side. Yami shrugged in response.

"Same difference," he said, stepping forward to greet the large scale of healthy-grown Christmas trees of all shapes and sizes. Yugi giggled, following the taller teen.

"Here we go! We're doing this the traditional way!" Sugoroku grinned, pulling out from the trunk, a razor-sharp saw. Yami's eyes widened a little.

"Why do I not trust him holding such a dangerous object?" Yami whispered to the smaller, equally frightened Yugi. They both glanced up at each other for a moment and Yami smirked, fully expecting the laugh that his comment brought from the smaller. He placed a hand on Yugi's shoulder, and began walking with him at a brisk pace. "Come. If we get lost in the sea of trees, it will be difficult for him to hunt us down with his saw of _aibou_ destruction!"

Yugi laughed lightheartedly, allowing Yami to take his glove-covered hand and sweep him away from the elder. Sugoroku blinked, confused, bringing the saw down to his side.

"Let me know when you two find a nice tree, and I'll bring this so we can cut it and take it!" He called out to them. Yugi's faint _"haaaaai!" _could be heard as the teens distanced and lost themselves in the field of Balsam Firs. Sugoroku chuckled, shaking his head to himself as he went in search of a tree as well. "What am I going to do with that grandson of mine?"

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><p>Their boots padded along the ground quickly, as it transitioned from a rocky road to soft earth. Their hands had separated long ago, but they were still near to each other as they ran as fast as the cold wind and their legs carried them, dodging the maze of trees as they flew in between. Every so often, Yugi would glance to his left and see the fleece coat on Yami brush past, and he spotted the rare grin on the taller's face that he only expressed when he felt absolute freedom and happiness, like in this moment. Yugi gave a small cheer, and a laugh following as they both ran at equal pace. Nothing could stop them now. Except—<p>

"_OOF!" _Yugi crashed into a tree that had escaped his notice when he was so concentrated on spotting more of Yami throughout their running. He sat there on the ground, hissing as he held his head. He could hear Yami stop in his tracks, and instantly run back to his side.

"_Aibou!_ Are you alright?" He asked through quickened breaths, panting heavily from the exercise.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine." Yugi gently rubbed his forehead as the pain of the impact was beginning to subside. He glanced up at Yami cutely, and said Yami chuckled, extending a helping hand to his fallen friend. Yugi smiled weakly, accepting his offer, and he was pulled back onto his feet.

"Well. That was fun while it lasted," Yugi laughed once he regained his balance.

"Yeah, it was," Yami chuckled again in agreement. He reached up a slender, gloved hand and brushed back Yugi's bangs. The little Hikari tried to ignore the blush that was quite obvious on his cheeks as he gazed tiredly at his other, and enjoyed the pleasant touch of his warm hand brushing the area where it still slightly hurt.

"I saw in a café once, a little boy who scraped his knee, and came to his mother in tears, and she kissed it and said to the boy 'there, all better.' So," Yami leaned in and grazed his lips over Yugi's forehead. The smaller boy's eyes shot wide open, his blush becoming even more prominent, but letting Yami kiss his head nonetheless. He fidgeted nervously as Yami pulled away and smiled at him. "There, all better."

"Th-thanks." Yugi whispered, glancing at him for a moment before flicking his gaze elsewhere.

"Well now, we should look for a tree. Don't want to keep Sugoroku waiting with his saw." Yugi giggled at this comment and lagged behind the taller as they began walking again. He observed Yami's dangling hand as he moved, the same one that had brushed through his hair and brought him a small moment of warmth. He tried to pay no mind to the blazing heat rising to his cheeks again, but boldly caught up to Yami's side and reached down to grasp his hand with his own. At first, Yugi thought Yami hadn't even noticed it due to his silence and his eyes still flickering about in hopes of finding an agreeable tree, but he was proven wrong when his fingers responded and laced through the smaller's, and causing him to smile.

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><p>"This one!" Yugi cried excitedly, breaking away from Yami's hand and trotting over to a tree isolated in the open air. It was perhaps Yami's height, if not just a couple inches taller. The branches and pine needles exuded an almost bluish tint, appearing a bit like frost. Something about this tree made Yami smile; he couldn't say what, but he knew instantly that it was definitely special. Perhaps it was because it brought such joy to his <em>aibou<em>. He had a strict saying to himself, that if something brought Yugi such happiness, it was special, and he wouldn't doubt or question it.

"Well now we need to find Jii-chan," Yami said. Both were suddenly struck dumb when they realized how far they went, and Sugoroku could literally be _anywhere_ at this point.

"Are we lost?" Yugi finally asked. Yami chuckled.

"No. I can see the tent from here at the entrance. I'm sure he didn't go too far. Why don't you stay here, and I'll find him."

"Okay." Yugi nodded, smiling bright, which the elder teen returned.

"I won't be long." Then there was an awkward stillness, where despite Yami's words, he didn't move, but his gaze focused down at the ground in deep contemplation. Yugi tilted his head.

"_Mou hitori no boku?_ What's wrong? Aren't you going to find Jii-chan?" He asked.

Suddenly there was a shift where Yami stood, and he briskly strode over to Yugi with an almost solemn expression. His lips crashed upon the smaller's, who gave a small, muffled squeak of surprise, but did not break away—even as he felt his feet step backward with Yami's moving forward at the same moment, until he was pressed up against the very tree that they had both chosen.

Yugi's eyes drifted shut as Yami cradled his head once again with his warm hands. Their jaws dropped wider, deepening the kiss and Yugi found he was loving every moment: the sweet feelings the kiss brought to the surface, hidden in the depths of his heart for so long; the feel of Yami's hands brushing up from his face to tangle themselves in his spiked hair while Yugi found comfort in just placing his hands over Yami's fleece-covered arms. Although the jabbing in the back of the rough pine needles were a bit distracting, Yugi could care less—trying desperately to focus on these more important matters.

Yami's arms brought the boy closer, if it were even possible. Their lips parted for a split moment to take in a few more seconds of oxygen, before diving in for another passionate kiss. It didn't turn out to be nearly as long, but it was beyond worth the loss of air. The teens parted, at a loss for words, trying to calm and steady the rate at which their hearts were pumping and heavy breathing. Yami ran a hand through Yugi's tri-colored hair again with the most loving gaze and smile to ever grace the pharaoh's face.

And suddenly, just like that, it was over. Yugi's fingertips were reaching for nothing, and the temperature of the air that surrounded him returned to its original state—so, so cold and empty. He watched with his lips parted in silent protest as Yami disappeared in the ocean of trees again in search for Sugoroku, leaving Yugi for a few minutes in isolation to process what had just transpired a short few seconds ago.

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><p>If Yami finding Sugoroku and leading him back to the chosen tree and little Yugi was awkward, the car ride back was beyond a doubt the most excruciatingly awkward experience ever known to mankind. Half of the two boys wanted desperately to just tackle the other into another joyful kissing experience, while the other half was wondering what the hell brought that on. Sugoroku, humming to the merry little Christmas tunes on the radio, was blissfully unaware of the many exchanged glances of Yami and Yugi, and of the fact that their hands were tightly linked between the little space they had where the seatbelts were. Yugi, at a loss for what else to do, turned to glace over his shoulder to make sure their new tree was still secure in the truck. Check.<p>

"You two are awfully quiet," the elder audibly observed with a raised eyebrow. "Something bad happen while tree-hunting?"

"Nope," Yugi suddenly blurted, a deep blush playing on his cheeks. "Nothing bad happened..."

Yami resumed his former position, with his chin resting in his palm and watching the rushing world beyond the window; bringing forth his signature smirk as he added on to Yugi's comment, "Nothing bad at _all_."

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><p><strong>R&amp;R! ;D<strong>


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